Reviews: Herbert, Frank

Whipping Star —
Frank Herbert
ConSentiency, book 1

1970’s
Whipping
Star
is the third piece and first novel-length work in
Frank Herbert’s ConSentiency
series. I hope I’ve worked out how I am going to number Whipping
Star
by the time I post this review.

The
ConSentiency spans the Milky Way. While faster than light drives
exist, all are too slow for galactic travel. What made the
ConSentiency practical was the jumpdoor. Jumpdoors allow people to
step from the surface of one planet to the surface of another.
Jumpdoors were so clearly useful that nobody questioned their
enigmatic Caleban creators too closely about how exactly they worked.

Jumpdoors
have some interesting undocumented features. For example, someone who
knows their jumpdoors can use them to kill an astonishing fraction of
the population of the ConSentiency in one go.

Dune —
Frank Herbert
Dune, book 1

Frank
Herbert’s 1965 fix-up novel Dune
is the first novel in his ongoing (and thanks to necrolaboration,
undead) Dune
series. While the original novel may be overshadowed by the feculent
dribblings of Brian Herbert and pen-for-hire Kevin J. Anderson, in
its day Dune
was pretty highly regarded. Awards include

The
planet Arrakis! Also known as Dune! Sole source of Spice, the
mysterious substance that grants longer life and enhances awareness,
even allowing a lucky few to see into the future itself! Life
extension alone would make it valuable, but its role as psychic
steroids makes it a necessity for interstellar trade. Without spice,
ships would be lost to unforeseeable dangers in the interstellar deeps.